We all have an inner spirit because we are all spiritual beings. There is more going on beyond our inner dialogue and constant stream of rambling thoughts. You are more, I am more – our moreness lives within us, it’s what connects us all. When we disconnect from our inner knowing, we disconnect from one another. This disconnect can be felt on a global scale.

We find our way back to each other, when we find our way home to our truest self. Our inner spirit is our truest self.

You’ll know when you’re connected to your inner spirit by how you feel.

When we are connected to our inner knowing, we can’t help but feel good. While we are connected, we quiet the noise from our outer world and our inner ramblings. The overall feeling we are left with is a combination of sweet relief, gratitude and a sense that all is well.

While we are connected, we feel held by love.

When we are disconnected from our inner knowing, we may feel anxious or overwhelmed. Our minds might feel busy with conflicting thoughts, stories and judgments. We may feel lonely or unsettled. We might find we are constantly searching for external ways to feel good. We don’t experience inner peace when we are disconnected from our inner knowing.

If we know how good it feels to be connected to our inner knowing, why does it sometimes feel so hard to sustain this connection? If we understand that judgment and fear aren’t present within this state of connection and love, why would we ever disconnect in the first place?

The simple truth is many of us are operating on autopilot. Perhaps we haven’t learned, or we have somehow forgotten about the magic that lives within us. It can be easy to get lost amidst the noise of life. We all can forget relief is available to us at any time.

The term inner peace doesn’t allude to something that exists in our external world. Inner peace is a state of being, it’s a place we access within our being. The way to experience a sense of inner peace, is to journey inward and strengthen the pathway to our inner truth. It sounds complicated and abstract, but it’s actually simpler than so many of us make it out to be.

As a society, we are programmed to look outside of ourselves for answers. We are used to finding comfort by reaching out to our external world. We look outside of ourselves for evidence that all is well. But when we venture inward more often, we can experience firsthand the sensation that all is indeed okay. When we experience the feeling of connection and relief, we help spread that same feeling out to others around us – the momentum can be felt globally.

Sustaining a lasting connection with our inner knowing becomes simpler when we turn it into a regular, daily practice. Each day we wake up alive in this world, we can make the decision and commitment to want to feel good.

Here are 3 practices I regularly use to tune in and make my connection with my inner knowing a top priority.

Patience is a Virtue

We make life complicated by insisting on quick fixes and instant results. The expression, patience is a virtue, is a popular expression for a reason. The only way to understand our inner world, is to be patient with ourselves while we are learning.

Here’s the thing, we are all the same in our shared humanity, and we are all unique in how we access our humanity.

For example, when I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I don’t necessarily make the correlation in the moment that I’m disconnected from my inner knowing. However, because I’ve committed to a lifelong practice of wanting to feel connected and good, I know when I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I need to access my breath. This is something I’ve learned over time, with a lot of practice and discomfort.

Deep intentional breathing works well for me to re-set and begin feeling better in certain circumstances. Using intentional breathing helps me feel connected, but it might not be the best path inward for you. You might find that music, dance, prayer, getting outside in fresh air, having a bubble bath, or reciting a weird and wonderful mantra is what helps you re-connect to your inner spirit. There is no way for anyone else to know what is going to work best for you, except for you. Our particular ways of journeying inward will change depending on the circumstance and set-back. We all need a giant tool box filled with unique practices that help us connect to our inner spirit.

The first and best step is to commit to wanting to feel good in your life. The next important and best step is to acknowledge that life is a journey and adventure. On this life adventure, insisting on quick fixes will only ever set you back. Instead, it’s more empowering to settle into the notion that your desire to feel good is more important than the discomfort you may feel while you’re learning what works best for you. Appoint yourself in charge of your happiness and be patient with yourself on your daily pursuit of contentment.

Compassion Paves the Path

Compassion is an underestimated superpower. When we connect to our inner truth often enough, we begin to feel protective of our inner spirit.

It’s true that nobody can hurt us without us giving them permission to hurt us. But how do we arm ourselves against the hurt?

The quick and common way to arm ourselves, is retaliation. If someone judges us, or offends us, or misunderstands who we truly are – it can hurt. From our place of hurt, we may hurt others back. This is how the vicious cycle of hurt and disconnection perpetuates. It perpetuates on a global scale, with dire consequences.

If we are hurting others, we are disconnected from ourselves. If we want to stop the cycle of disconnect and hurt, we must understand that it always starts with us. The best way to arm ourselves is to wrap our arms around ourselves – compassion is key. When we don’t feel good about ourselves or others, it’s our cue to offer ourselves more compassion and self-love. Compassion paves the path to connect with your inner spirit. Compassion opens the door to the sacred space where all is well.

Have faith in your merit as a human being. Allow it to sink in that we all are enough. You are enough, I am enough – everyone who is alive right now is enough.

Quiet Space Is the Answer

Despite our patience and compassion, sometimes it still feels challenging to sustain a lasting connection with our inner spirit. This challenge is our sign we need to slow our roll, no matter what environment we are in.

We don’t just wish ourselves into having a sense of inner peace and connectedness. Sustaining a connection with our inner knowing is a daily, moment to moment practice. If life feels busy, loud, offensive or overwhelming, that’s your cue to slow down and find your version of quiet.

Quiet space doesn’t always look like the stereotypical scene filled with serenity and yoga poses. Quiet space might mean turning the radio off while you are driving, so you have less external noise coming at you. Quiet space might mean turning off your phone and taking a break from technology – seriously this is so important. Quiet space might mean turning on music and moving your body - you might quiet your mind by connecting to your movement.

This is a personalized practice, and it’s a practice that requires a willing participant. As participants, it’s best if we can laugh at ourselves often and not take it all too seriously. It’s also helpful when give ourselves permission to be creative and silly in our methods for feeling good.

Are you willing to create a long lasting connection with your inner knowing? What does your quiet space look like, and how do you feel when you’re in it?

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Emily Madill is an author and certified professional coach with a BA in Business and Psychology. Emily is Thrive Global's Editor at-large.

She has published 11 titles in the area of self-development and empowerment, both for children and adults. You can find her writing in Chicken Soup for the Soul:Think Positive for Kids; Thrive Global; The Huffington Post; Mike Dooley’s TUT.com; Best Self Magazine; MindBodyGreen; The Muse; WellthyLiving.ca; TinyBuddha; Aspire Magazine and others.

Emily enjoys helping others embrace their own greatness in an effort to spread more acceptance and joy out into the world. She lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, with her husband and two sons. Learn more at: emilymadill.com

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People look for retreats for themselves, in the country, by the coast, or in the hills . . . There is nowhere that a person can find a more peaceful and trouble-free retreat than in his own mind. . . . So constantly give yourself this retreat, and renew yourself.
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